CTICasesSevere Smoking-Related Lung Disease Improving After Smoking Cessation
Imaging findings
In a 29-year-old smoker, CT shows extensive small nodules, cavitary nodules, and large, bizarre-shaped cystic spaces throughout both lungs, including the lower lung zones, a pattern highly typical of smoking-related Langerhans cell histiocytosis. Follow-up CT several months after the patient stopped smoking shows resolution of many of the small and cavitary nodules and decreased bronchial wall thickening, though the larger cystic spaces persist.
Key takeaways
Nodules and cavitary nodules in smoking-related Langerhans cell histiocytosis can substantially regress after smoking cessation, reflecting resolution of the active inflammatory/proliferative component, while the established cystic spaces themselves tend to persist as fixed, permanent architectural change.
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